Day after monster storm Sandy,Delco digs in, cleans up (With Video)

Times staff / ROBERT J. GURECKI
A fallen tree blocks the road at the intersection of Edmonds and Highland avenues in Drexel Hill.

There was plenty of warning about the arrival of Hurricane Sandy before it hit Delaware County and the surrounding region Monday afternoon and Monday night.

But just because you know it's coming, doesn't lessen the impact a storm can have. Many county residents experienced that firsthand by either dealing with downed trees that damaged their property or the widespread power outages.

Bill Kobasa had to deal with both.

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It was just before 10 p.m. Monday when Kobasa was preparing to call it a night in his Springfield home on Briarhill Road when he heard a loud crash.

It turned out the pine tree of neighbors Mark and Stacey Rosser fell on the back room of Kobasa's house. There were no injuries, but the tree snapped the power line that leads to his house, making his the only house on the block without power.

"I heard something happen and everybody came out," Kobasa said. "I was getting ready for bed and it made a lot of noise."

However, the pine tree which looked to be about 50 feet tall and was uprooted from the rain-softened ground by powerful winds wasn't the tree that either Kobasa or the Rossers had been concerned about.

"I'm more worried about this big poplar tree," Kobasa said, pointing to what looked to be a 75-foot tall tree in the back part of his yard.

The Rossers were concerned about a white birch tree in their backyard and were getting ready to sleep in their basement in case that tree was blown down.

"We weren't concerned about that one at all," Stacey Rosser said of the fallen pine. "This tree here though just really bends in the wind and that's why we were sleeping downstairs."

And was it just before bedtime for the Rossers and their two boys when they heard something outside.

"We felt a little rumble and that was it," she said. "We must have felt it come up out of the ground."

Stacey Rosser said they also had recently had their trees checked and the tall pine wasn't even considered to be removed.

"They said it has looked healthy and had lots of new growth," Stacey Rosser said. "I used to live across the street and Mark and my brother used to play in that tree when they were little."

Kobasa though seemed to take the incident in stride, being concerned about the Rossers' dog getting out and running out of the fence the tree smashed and being glad no one was injured, even though he's the one without power.

"That's why God made sweatshirts," he said.

Upper Darby firemen Vince Gasbarro was doing his share of sweating while on duty Monday night helping remove trees, downed wires and do other duties associated with the Hurricane Sandy.

But then he got a call and text-photo from his son, showing how a black oak tree, which looked to be about 100 feet tall, had snapped off about 10 feet high and smashed his wife's Saturn Vue at the residence on the corner of Providence Road.

"It's the kind of tree that is top heavy, especially when it gets hit by the wind like that," Gasbarro said. "I grew up in this neighborhood and have lived around here for 50 years. I've seen a lot of trees across the street (a wooded area owned by the Marines) fall, but this time none fell over there."

Haverford is an older community with a lot of large trees and when storms come, trees tend to fall there. But unlike late last August when Hurricane Irene hit and caused widespread power outages and widespread angst among residents, it's been different this year.

Not so much because the damage is less, but because the communication is better. Haverford Township Commissioner Dan Segal said he sent out five updates to let residents know the progress.

"We did not have good communication with PECO last year and we have worked very hard over that issue," Segal said. "It's not been great but they've done enough to let us know they are here. People are happy to have communication."

According to Segal, the power outages in Haverford went from more than 7,000 Tuesday morning and were down to just fewer than 4,300 by mid-afternoon.

"I'm really pleased with how we've coped," Segal said. "The winds have been brutal. The storm was pretty strong, but considering everything, we are in better shape than I would have ever imagined.

"There's going to be houses affected and overall it's not perfect. But the township was prepared."

Segal said the only road closed in the township Tuesday afternoon was Darby Road between Marple Road and College Avenue due to downed trees and wires.

"I've driven around and the roads are generally in better shape than I would have expected," Segal said. "Considering how difficult how hurricane Irene was, I think the township is faring much better now and as well as I could expect."

Another issue that occurred Tuesday was the rising of the Delaware River in Essington, which was threatening the Corinthian Yacht Club.